tv Pres. Biden on Hurricane Helene From White House CSPAN October 1, 2024 2:55am-3:05am EDT
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pres. biden: good morning. we had devastating storms in the south. i spoke a couple hours yesterday with leaders affected by the campaign, governor of georgia and north carolina and leaders in the south carolina and tennessee and florida with the devastating impact not just the storm but hick history making storm the entire southeast and appalachia damage from the hurricane stretches across at least 10 states.
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winds over 120 miles an hour in some place the storm since up it 15 feet, record flooding, communities devastated. loved ones not sure if loved ones are ok. they . they can't contact them because of no cell phone connections. more folks dose placed with no idea when they can return to their home if ever. we are keeping tell in our prayers and lives lost and those particularlien accounted for. there's nothing like wondering if my husband, wifeers sun, alive.. many remain without electricity, water, food, communication. there are homes and businesses washed away in an instan want them to know we're not leaving until the job is done. i also want you to know i'm convicted to getting into areas as soon as possible but i'm told they are disrupted right now. they will not do that at the risk of delaying any assets to deal with this crisis. my first response is to get all the help needed to those impact
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the areas. i . i expect to be there later this week.. my team is in contact with the governors, mayors and local leaders . fema is on the ground in north carolina and she will stay in nashville and that is for the foreseeable future. there have been reports of over 100 dead and there are reports of up to 600 people un accounted of up to 600 people uaccounted for. god willing they are alive but there's no way to contact them because of lack of cell phone coverage. i directed my team to use every available resource as fast as possible to again rebuilding. in in addition to fema and federal communication commission to establish communication, national guard, army corps of engineers, and department of defense will provide all the resources at its disposal to rescue and assist in clearing
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debris and delivering supplies. so far, over 3,600 personnel are deployed and that is growing by the day. i approved requests of governors from florida, north carolina, south carolina, tennessee, georgia, virginia, and alabama for an emergency declaratio. r i approved additional requests for the governors of north carolina, florida, south carolina, and disaster declaration to pay for removal and provide financial assistance directly to survivors. fema and small business administration are there to help the residents was homes and businesses were literally destroyed, washed away, or blown away. the federal search and rescue teams have been working with state and local officials in partners in treacherous conditions to find those missing. they will not rest until everyone is accounted for. i want to thank all of our first responders and everyone working
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around-the-clock. one of the brave teams who volunteered to be there from san diego county fire department set to travel all the way from california to north carolina to help but on their way they were in a terrible car accident in louisiana. we pray for their full recovery but it was a bad accident. we know there is more to do and we will continue to surge resources can you go food, water, communication, and life saving equipment. we will be there before and i mean it as long as it takes it finishes the job. as president i have seen firsthand the devastating toll that disasters like this tack on for families and communities, on ground many disasters since i have been president. i have heard dozens of stories from survivors of how it feels to be left with nothing, not knowing when you will be back on
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track. i'm here to tell every survivor in these impacted areas we will be there with you as long as it takes. excuse me. i urge everyone returning to their communities and homes to listen to local officials and follow all safety instructions. take this seriously. please be safe. the nation has your back. the biden-harris administration will be there until the job is done. god bless you all and i bless those who are still wondering where your loved ones are. >> will you need to ask congress for a supplemental? pres. biden: that is my expectation. it is an historic storm, never seen anything like this and some have three storms back to back in a row so it is really
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devastating. >> will you be asking congress to come back for a special session? pres. biden: that is something i may have t may have it request but no decision has been made yet. >> do you have any sense where you will go? pres. biden: traveling as an entourage, it can be disruptive. >> trump is down there today. pres. biden: i don't have any idea. >> on the shoe on the other side of the break in the middle east -- pres. biden: i will stick with this subject. go ahead. >> the operation into lebanon. are you aware of that and comfortable with their plan? pres. biden: i am more aware than you might know and i am comfortable with them stopping. we should have a cease fire. >> why weren't you and vice president harris in washington
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